| Here
is Sam's Story as told by his new mom:
It
was quite obvious that we needed a chewable. Nova was 13 years
old and just couldn't keep up with 1 year old Meeshka. Without
anyone to chase her around the yard (Nova has congenital cataracts
and arthritis and wasn't up to the task) it was up to me to
be her play partner and frankly, my lungs and legs couldn't
handle it for too long. She was a bundle of pent up husky
energy and nonstop play. Her frustration was obvious (by the
bruises on my arms from her gnawing on me, trying to goad
me into chasing her around the yard).
 Tails
of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue (TOTTSHR) knew of our
dilemma. Through our incessant whining and begging, they assured
us that Meeshka's perfect playmate would come along in due
time. We had very strict standards: the husky must love to
play, didn't mind being chewed on, and was cute.
In
January of 2002, an older dog came up for adoption that I
found interesting. Loved to play, loved to be chewed, so we
scheduled a meeting. A day after we scheduled, a 7 month old
pup was released into the rescue by its owner. His name was
Sam. From the picture and description, he met our criteria
(cute, chewable) and his foster parents said that he was just
a darling little snuggle bug. How could we resist? We asked
that Sam be brought down for a trial run as well.
A
few days later, we received a phone call from the TOTTSHR
fosters to let us know that while Sam was being neutered,
they had asked their vet to x-ray his hips. They had noticed
that Sam walked and sat kinda funny. It turns out that poor
Sam had "the worst hips in the history of Pennsylvania
(and later Maryland) veterinarian medicine". Actually,
Sam didn't have any hips, just little nubs and his leg bones
were severely misplaced. It didn't really matter to us that
the poor guy was on the bad end of the gene pool, we wanted
to meet the little fellow anyway.
Our
first visit was postponed due to snow, so the next Saturday
(January 26th) the TOTTSHR brigade came to our house. First
up for audition was Sam. We wanted to make sure that both
Meeshka and Nova accepted him, and after a few careful sniffs…
it was PLAY TIME!!!!! Run, run, run around the yard (and even
with no hip bones, that little guy could run), chase, chase,
chase, play, wrestle fun time! Even Nova (who normally thought
the yard was just to do his business) was in on the act, chasing,
playing and having a great time.
We
let them have a ball, then introduced him to the house and
the little guy made himself right at home and neither Meeshka,
nor Nova seemed to mind that he moved right in. The second
dog (the one I had initially picked out) got along fabulously
with Nova, and completely ignored Queen Meeshka. While he
was a nice enough fellow, we had already fallen in love with
Sam and had made our decision.
As
expected, there were a few squabbles (namely, who would sleep
in the bed with us… we were almost tossed out, but managed
to keep our spots with Meeshka sprawled on one and Sam sprawled
on the other, Nova opted for his big cushy pillow). Sam hated
his crate and made sure we knew it with his pitiful howling
and talking, but soon enough, was right at home with chewies
and goodies.
 At
first, we tried to treat him with kid gloves because of his
hips, but later learned that he would milk that for all the
dog treats and petting he could. We suspect that the little
bugger has little, tiny, hidden wings and is able to flutter
up and grab the most out of reach "goodies" possible.
Two
of his most favorite conquests: toilet paper and bread. Sam
was able to flutter up and grab a whole loaf of bread from
the top of the microwave, gut the wrapper down the middle
and consume the entire loaf in three seconds flat. He regularly
dines on new rolls of toilet paper that he nabs right from
under our very noses. We suspect that in addition to wings,
he has the power of invisibility. After one shopping trip,
he saved the entire family by subduing and carrying off a
vicious 4 pound rump roast. In another adventure (despite
a full water bowl) he grabbed a tupperware bowl full of water
out of the sink and managed not to spill a drop. This is a
puppy that when he jumps up (on those bad hips) can barely
put his front paws on the counter.
 We've
taught him how to "pounce on Meeshka" to get him
chasing after her. We can tell that she slows down on occasion
to let him catch her, and doesn't chase him as fast as she
could. She has turned from a spoiled brat puppy, to his big
sister, smacking him with a paw when he tries to liberate
another loaf of bread, or breaking up arguments with Nova.
The two of them are inseparable, and won't stop playing, even
when they are too exhausted to play anymore (they just lay
there and do alien face and make strange noises). Nova "tolerates"
him (as he does Meeshka) but they do have their moments of
play (which sometimes turn a bit rougher than Nova prefers).
Due
to Sammy's bad hips, we took him to a local specialist to
see if there was anything that we could do that would make
his life better. Our biggest concern was whether he was having
any pain with his condition. Our specialist assured us that
his right hip, although severely dislocated, was in a position
that didn't cause him any pain. His left hip, on the other
hand, was painful when manipulated. The x-rays he took showed
that Sam's femoral head was collapsed and pointed, which grated
on his hip bone when he walked. He was a good candidate for
hip replacement surgery. We had also noticed that Sam walked
funny on his right front leg, and x-rays showed that his upper
front leg bone was not growing and was slightly deformed.
Apparently, the growth plate in his shoulder was damaged and
his right front leg was shorter than the other. Our poor mess
of a puppy needed some relief.
With
the help of TOTTSHR, Sam will get a new hip on 30 May 2002.
We've already made arrangements with our employers to take
time off and help him recover, and give him the chance to
be a real, whole puppy again. We're nervous wrecks, because
we've been instructed to keep him from playing rough. I don't
think he knows any other way to play than rough.
 Since
Sam came into our lives, we've been able to watch Meeshka
bloom and become a happy, well-adjusted pup, and get to watch
with joy as she and Sam chase and wrestle. He's also taught
us not to leave ANYTHING out in the open, that keeping toilet
paper on a shelf and retrieving it with every visit is the
ONLY way we can keep it from being consumed, and that you
can get aerobic exercise by running up the stairs when it
gets too quiet upstairs and Sammy is unsupervised. He is the
joy in our hearts, his devil-may-care attitude and easygoing
style endears him to everyone he meets. One look in those
brown, sweet eyes and you are in love. As he's carrying away
a pork roast, you just have to say "awww, look at that
sweet little puppy" before giving chase.
We
owe a debt of gratitude to Tails of the Tundra for introducing
us to this wonderful bundle of love. He brightens our life
every day he's with us… in his FOREVER HOME!!!! |
